In The News

Yonhap News: South Korea Mulls Projects to Help North Koreans Access Outside Information

March 2, 2017
South Korea is ranked the world’s 11th largest economy while its neighbor to the north, isolated and poor, does not rank among the top 100. The free flow of information and news contributes to economic growth and development, and South Korea is making plans for a foundation to improve human rights in North Korea and push projects that help North Koreans access outside information. But activists...

The Diplomat: Kim Jong-nam's Assassins in Malaysia Used VX Nerve Agent

Ankit Panda February 26, 2017
Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of former North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il, was assassinated at the crowded Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. The weapon used against the estranged half-brother of North Korea's current dictator, the youngest son, is reported as the nerve agent VX, a substance banned as a chemical weapon by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons...

Caixin: Chinese Drone Maker to Supply Dubai with Self-Flying Taxis

Coco Feng February 17, 2017
Dubai, with a population of 2.7 million, is the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, and traffic congestion is a major complaint. The Dubai Roads and Transportation Authority is planning to allow remote-controlled drones work as taxis, and Chinese drone maker EHang Inc. announced “it will supply passenger-carrying drones to Dubai, which is aiming to become in July the world’s first city to...

Associated Press: UN Security Council Condemns North Korea's Missile Test

Edith M. Lederer and Eric Talmadge February 15, 2017
North Korea launched yet another missile into the Sea of Japan, demonstrating new strides in range and capability with solid fuel. The US ambassador to the United Nations issued a statement calling the launches “unacceptable” and that the time had come to hold North Korea and “its enablers” accountable. The Kim regime in North Korea could not survive without fuel, food and other basic goods from...

The Diplomat: Australia Keeps TPP Alive

Anthony Fensom February 13, 2017
Leaders of Japan and the United States, the leading economies that had negotiated the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, announced plans to pursue stronger bilateral ties. “Importantly, the joint statement also allowed for Japan to continue pursuing the TPP, even after [Donald] Trump’s January 23 decision to withdraw,” reports Anthony Fensom for the Diplomat, adding that Japan has invested more...

Bloomberg: Trump Drops Taiwan Gambit, a Relief for China’s Xi and Asia

February 11, 2017
Shortly after being elected US president, Donald Trump toyed with the idea of discarding the longstanding One China policy, a move that would destabilize the Asia Pacific region. “Three weeks into his presidency, the threat to upend U.S. policy on Taiwan – a breakaway province in China’s eyes – is off the table,” reports Bloomberg News. “The White House said Trump agreed in a phone call Thursday...

Project Syndicate: ASEAN and the Rohingya Crisis

Syed Munir Khasru February 10, 2017
Muslim Rohingya communities lack citizen rights in Myanmar and are under military attack as well. “The United Nations considers the stateless Rohingya to be among the world’s most persecuted minorities,” writes Syed Munir Khasru for Project Syndicate. “Now, other countries in an otherwise stable region are becoming embroiled in the crisis; indeed, countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand, and...